About travelling the world and living in London.

Monthly Archives: December 2014

There’s a Chinese tradition whereby fake paper money is burnt to honor the deceased ancestors. It is believed that by setting this money on fire it will be transferred to the afterworld and hence the dead ancestors will receive it and their afterlives will be improved.

According to my friend’s explanation the money needs to be folded in a specific way and you can either buy the banknotes and fold them yourself or you can buy it pre-folded like this gentleman is offering in his little shop.

But it’s not all about money. You can also send other things into the afterworld by burning them. Like these paper trainers (for sporty ancestors).

I love Hong Kong. It’s probably my favourite city in Asia. And one of the reasons why I love it is that it has got this great mix between Chinese and English cultures. Things that I find annoying about China (pushing, shoving, spitting) simply don’t exist in Hong Kong. But Hong Kong still has the Chinese feel, the temples, the food, the markets… A perfect combination, in my opinion!

One interesting result of the Asian and Western fusion is some of the food options. A typical Hong Kong breakfast for example is this: beef instant noodles, milk tea, egg and a roll. (Note: no chopsticks!)

It’s been over a month now since I was in Hong Kong and I’ve been busy studying Ruby ever since I got back (read more about that here). But over Christmas I finally found the time to sort through my HK photos.

I arrived in the early afternoon in the first week of November and checked into the Mei Ho House Youth Hostel in Shek Kip Mei, which I can really recommend! (Whatever you do, don’t choose a hotel in Chungking Mansions – it sounds awful).